Panel fastener



March 8, 1938. H. J. WOODALL PANEL FASTENER Filed Sept. 4, 1936 INVENTOR. fierbert 1 h/ooda/Z BY ATTORNEYS.

Patented Mar. 8, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFlCE PANEL FASTENER Herbert J. Woodall, Detroit, Mich, assignor to Woodall Industries Incorporated, Detroit, Mich., a corporation of Michigan Application September 4, 1936, Serial No. 99,345

3 Claims. (01. 296-44) My invention relates to an improved panel and Fig. 5 is an elevation of a fragment of a panel support therefor. It is illustrated as embodied in support such as is shown in Fig. 1. a panel such as is used in the interior of auto- Panel supporting frames used in automobile mobile bodies. It resides in the provision of a body construction are commonly angular in cross fastener receiving part adapted to cooperate with section and in the several figures here shown the 5 a panel support constructed to receive the same. panel supporting element is indicated generally Panels of this type are commonly formed of as Ill. It-is provided with an angularly extendcardboard or other similar material which may ing relatively narrow flange 12 which is turned be covered on the outer face with suitable trim inwardly and extends longitudinally thereof.

fabric. The cardboard foundation is ordinarily The panel rests upon this flange and is secured 10 provided with fasteners which may be detachable thereto. The outer sheet metal wall of the body therefrom and which are engageable with the is shown at M. support that is to carry the panel. These fase Panels used commonly have afiber board founteners and the support adapted to receive the dation. Such a foundation is indicated as I6.

5 same are commercially found in many different It is provided on its outer face with a suitable 15 forms. trim fabric l8 which may be adhesively secured It is an object of my invention to provide a thereto and turned over the edges onto the rear panel foundation of this type with fasteners face thereof. Padding may be provided if desired. which project only a slight distance from the rear The particular ha r o h trim r p n face thereof and which are readily engageable of the panel may be as desired. 20 by manipulation of the panel with a relatively It Will be notediihat the Supporting me is narrow panel supporting frame or ledge suitably generally U-shaped and has opposed side flanges apertured to receive fasteners. Preferably the and a bottom flange which support the sides and panel supporting element is provided with aperbottom of the panel. The side flanges are protures that extend inwardly from its inner margin vided with a plurality of apertures or slots indi- 25 and through which the panel fasteners are slid cated in Figs. 1 and 5 as 29. These apertures are to a point of engagement. A feature of importhere shown as extending inwardly from the tance is that the panel supporting element may inner margin of the flange transversely thereof be of relatively narrow width and the fasteners for a limited distance and then extending subare readily attachable therewith. stantially longitudinally thereof to a closed end 30 Another meritorious feature is that the fasportion as shown rly in Fig Th pteners may be fixed to the panel at the time of its ertures along the bottom flange are ted as fabrication and yet not project away from the 22 and these extend from the upper margin downrear face thereof to such a distance as to interwardly transversely thereof. The apertures fere with the stacking of the panels. described are provided in such number as are 35 A further important characteristic is that the required to receive the desired number of faspanel is not only readily attachable to its supteners to hold the panel in place and due to this port but may also be readily detached therefrom. extension inwardly from the margin of the flange Other important objects; features, and advansuch flange need not be of great width as it is tages of this invention will more fully appear only necessary that the aperture have a dimen- 40 from the following description, appended claims, sion sufiicient to pass the relatively small diameand accompanying drawing, wherein: ter shank "of the fastener.

Figure 1 is a perspective of a fragment of a The panel is provided with a plurality of headpanel support and panel illustrating an embodied studs 25 which project from its rear face.

ment of my invention, These studs may be secured to the panel in any 45 Fig. 2 is a cross sectional View through the suitable fashion as shown in Fig. 2 wherein the structure shown in Fig. 1 with the panel illusstud is shown as fastened securely to the foundatrated as attached to the support whereas in Fig. tion board and as having a headed portion. The 1 it is spaced therefrom, studs may be provided in such number as is de- Fig. 3 is a cross sectional view through the sired to correspond with the fastener receiving 50 construction shown in Figs. 1 and 2 showing the apertures of the flanges. In Fig. 1 the panel is method of securing the panel to the support, shown as reversed and cut in half.

Fig. 4 illustrates a modified form of construc- To secure the panel in place the studs on one tion of a panel support as compared with Fig. 1, side are moved into the slots of the flange on one and side of the frame and the panel may then be 55 flexed along a vertical dimension so that the shanks of the studs 0n the other side may be received within the entrances to the apertures on such side as shown in Fig. 3. Upon flattening out of the panel it is then moved downwardly, moving the shanks of the fasteners spaced along its bottom margin into the apertures 22 in the bottom flange and moving the fasteners along the side margins toward the closed ends of apertures 26. The garnish molding may then be secured to the frame along the upper edge of the panel overlying the panel to hold it in place.

The construction shown in Fig. 4 differs in that g the aperture 26 through the flange does not open into the edge of the flange but has an upper end of sufiicient width to pass the head of the stud which the lower end will not do. The aperture shown in Fig. 4 would preferably be provided in the side flanges only. The bottom flange would be provided with apertures such as 22 shown in Fig. 1. The method of installation would be substantially the same except that it would not be necessary to flex the panel and the heads of the fasteners wouldbe moved directly through the enlarged upper ends of the apertures in the side flanges and then moved downwardly to be engaged at the lower end to retain the panel in place. It will be seen that the panel may be quickly attached to its supporting frame and will be securely held thereto. It likewise may be released therefrom. The headed fasteners project only a short distance away from the rear face of the panel and do not obstruct the stacking of the panels. In the construction shown in Figs. 1 and 5 the movement of the panels downwardly into position would tend to tension them transversely as the apertures 20 throughout this longitudinal extent extend somewhat angularly with respect to the margin of the flange.

The slots 20 and 22 and. the lower ends of apertures 26 preferably have a width greater than the diameter of the studs 24 so that flotation therein is permitted to accommodate for expansion or contraction of the panel.

What I claim is:

1. In combination with a panel support comprising spaced side frame members each provided with a plurality of fastener receivingaper tures spaced apart longitudinally of the member, each aperture extending inwardly from the inner margin of the member transversely thereofv and then longitudinally of the member, and a panel provided along each side margin with a. row of headed fasteners projecting away from the rear 7 face, said rows being spaced apart a distance greater than the inner margins of said side frame members, each fastener having a shank movable through the entrance of the corresponding fastener aperture in the side frame member transversely of the member and then longitudinally into a. position of engagement of the head'of the fastener therewith.

2. In combination, a. U-shaped panel support- 5 ing frame having relatively narrow panel supporting sides and bottom, the opposite sides of the U provided with fastener receiving slots spaced apart longitudinally thereof and extending initially inwardly from the inner margin, 10 transversely of the side and then longitudinally,

, and angularly of the side toward the outer margin thereof, the bottom of the U frame provided with fastener receiving slots spaced apart longitudinally thereof and extending inwardly from theinner margin transversely and toward the outer margin thereof, and a; trim panel provided along its bottoni margin and along its side margins with headed fasteners spaced apart longitudinally of the margins correspondingto the slots in the bottom and sides of the U frame, said fasteners projecting away from the rear face of the paneland each having a shank receivable through the entrance to the corresponding fastener slot in the U frame and movable therethrough to a position of engagement of the head of the fastener therewith, the distance transversely across the panel between-the headed fasteners along one side margin and the headed fasteners along the opposite margin being greater than the distance transversely across the U frame between the entrances into the fastener receiving slots along one side of the frame and entrances into the fastener receiving slots along the opposite side of the frame.

3. In combination, a pair of spaced apart supporting frame elements, each frame element provided with a row of apertures which apertures are spaced apart longitudinally of the frame element, each aperture extending transversely of the frame element and having a fastener receiving entrance at its inner end, a panel shaped to be supported on said frame elements and provided along each of the two opposite margins which seat upon said frame elements with a row of headed fasteners projecting away from the rear face of the panel and spaced apart to correspond with the spacing of the apertures in the frame elements, a row of fasteners along one of said margins being spaced from the row of 5 fasteners along the other of said margins a distance greater than the distance between the inner ends of the apertures in one row and the inner ends of the apertures in the other row, said fasteners being receivable into the apertures through the inner ends thereof and movable therethrough into engagement with the frame elements.

HERBERT J. WOODALL. 

